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New York City adopts new amendments to transform its urban conglomeration into environmentally friendly city, by upgrading to LEED v4 certification and incorporating Passivhaus standards.
Advanced building requirements are to be expected as New York is making a pro-active step into meeting global prerequisites for green building design. Keeping to its carbon reduction commitment, the New York City Council recently approved two important amendments to Local Law 86. The new building regulations set a new framework calling for city-owned buildings to be designed as low energy intensity and in line with LEED v4 (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification requirements.
The above applies to:
- city-funded new and existing buildings
- substantial reconstruction projects
where construction is managed both through city agencies and non-city entities.
This is a decisive move towards Mayor De Blasio’s One City Built to Last 10-year plan which aims to transform the city into a role model for environmentally friendly buildings.
Passivhaus standards written into NY building code
For the first time, the term Passivhaus was introduced into NY building code through the Amendment Intro.701-A (Low energy intensity building requirements for City buildings) and the Amendment Intro.721-A (Green building standards for City buildings). Despite the fact that the Passivhaus standards haven't been mainstream in sustainable building planning in the United States of America, the rigorous standard for energy efficiency is quickly gaining ground.
Agencies responsible for project design will be required to consider the feasibility of constructing on-site energy-generating buildings by using a combination of alternative energy resources. City capital projects will have to meet energy conservation requirements as defined by passive building standards. Leading edge performance goals, based on Passive house design standards, carbon neutral and “zero net energy” concepts refer back to the One City Built to Last Plan 2025.The second bill envisages for the city’s capital projects, both new and existing buildings, the implementation of greater energy efficiency and passive house design measures. Buildings will be required to achieve at least LEED version 4 Gold rating. Of course, alternative building rating systems will be also allowed, providing that the certification is as or more stringent than LEED standards.
The Mayor will be required to create a plan which ensures that by 2030 all capital projects -subject to the requirements of this bill, will be designed and constructed to meet the same energy use intensity as the buildings with Passivhaus certification.
A roadmap to reduce GHG emissions in New York
By setting up his Roadmap One City Built to Last Plan 2025: Transforming New York City’s Buildings for a Low Carbon Future, Mayor De Blasio leads the way to retrofit the existing building stock in a sustainable manner in order to cut the City’s major contribution to climate change. Aim of the Plan is to reduce NY GHG emissions by 30% from 2005 levels over the next decade.
It looks like that New York is transforming into a new urban conglomeration, one that is dedicated to environmentally friendly buildings, sets high carbon reduction targets, commits to 80% GHG emission reduction by 2050 and maps out a long-term path for investment in alternative energy resources.
Designing, or retrofitting, buildings as usual is no longer an option, and New York is clearly walking the talk showcasing a strong leadership in urban sustainability.